"Snowzilla" Slams 85 Million Americans: Photos From The Snow-Covered East Coast

The last time an "epic" blizzard was supposed to slam New York City almost exactly one year ago, it ended up being an even more epic dud. This time, however, winter storm Jonas was no false alarm as millions of Americans across the Eastern Seaboard woke up this morning to as much as two feet of snow, flooding, blocked roads, no electricity, strong winds, or all of the above.

The storm is expected to affect about 85 million Americans, one quarter of the US population according to AFP. Before it's all over, it could cause more than $1 billion in damage, NWS officials said. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie left the campaign trail in New Hampshire to oversee the emergency response in his snowbound state.

According to the latest NWS forecast, up to 30 inches of snow may fall in NYC:

If the blizzard leaves as much snow in Washington as forecast, it could surpass a record set in 1922 by a storm that dumped 28 inches over three days and killed 100 people after a roof collapsed at a theater.

According to AFP, eight people had died by late Friday from causes related to the monster snowstorm, which is expected to last until early Sunday, while over 6,000 thousand flights have been canceled because of the storm. Officials in Washington took the unusual step of closing down the city's rail and bus system from Friday night until Monday morning. Metrorail, the second busiest underground train network in the United States after New York. serves about 700,000 customers a day in Washington, Maryland and Virginia.

According to the AP live blog, snow accumulations have already passed a foot in much of the East Coast. Officials say there are pockets of stranded motorists in the westbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike near the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel in Somerset County, and the National Guard has been called out.

In Silver Spring, Maryland, about 20 inches of snow was measured outside by daybreak. Lightning flashed and thundersnow rumbled after 6 a.m. Thick snow continued to fall steadily in light wind.

Plows cleared the snow from a heavily traveled road. Ambulances and trucks were able to get through, but few other vehicles were moving. A couple intrepid people walked along the cleared portion of the road, ducking into the deeper snow when vehicles approached.

Pennsylvania Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo tells The Associated Press that he is aware of some of pockets of traffic, two to three miles in length, stuck on the turnpike in the western part of the state. He says some travelers were stuck overnight.

Virginia State Police say they responded to nearly 1,000 traffic crashes as a fearsome storm blanketed the state with snow. From midnight through 10 p.m. Friday, troopers responded to 989 crashes and 793 disabled vehicles. All told, state police dispatch centers fielded 3,471 calls during that period.

It is not just the snow, however, as several southern states, meanwhile, were also hit by snow and sleet with tens of thousands without power.

In Kentucky, thousands of motorists became stranded overnight on a backup along a 35 mile (56 kilometer) ice-slickened stretch of Interstate 75, and remained trapped on the road early Saturday.

All along the east coast, frantic shoppers emptied grocery store shelves in preparation for the storm, dubbed "Snowzilla" by some US media, and schools and government offices in Washington were all closed.

"I think it's going to be a disaster," Sharonda Brown, a nurse, said as she waited for an Uber car with a full cart of groceries at a Washington supermarket stormed by shoppers.

"With the increasing winds and increasing snow accumulation, now we're going to see more and more people stranded," she told CNN.

Along the east coast, strong winds and sleet have also resulted in areas of strong flooding. The storm is pounding the New Jersey and Delaware shorelines with 22-foot waves and a 3 to 5-foot storm surge that sent water levels to near all-time highs in some locations on Saturday morning.

The New Jersey state police reported Route 30 in Atlantic City has closed due to tidal flooding, as has the George Redding Bridge between Cape May and Middle Township.

As Mashwable reports, areas were experiencing coastal flooding around the time of high tide in the early hours of Saturday morning. Some residents along the coast described the strong winds outside as sounding like a freight train passing outside their windows. A wind gust to hurricane force, or 75 miles per hour, was recorded in Rehobeth Beach, Delaware, where waves higher than 20 feet and a high astronomical high tide raised water levels to near record heights.

The storm surge on Saturday morning beat the level seen during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, though Lewes did not experience the brunt of that storm's surge since the storm made landfall to the north of the area.

As a result, tens of thousands are without power along the New Jersey coast.

For all the latest developments we recommend the AP live "Snowzilla" live blog.

The good news is that both the snowfall and blizard should end some time tonight. For now, however, enjoy these photos courtesy of the Daily News showing the northeast in all its blizzard glory.

New York City, NY: A man shovels snow from the sidewalk on the corner of W. 90th Street and Columbus Avenue on Saturday morning

New York City, NY: A NYC transit worker shovels snow from a subway platform on Saturday morning

Atlantic City, NJ: One brave man pushes his cart full of passengers along the Atlantic City Boardwalk during a snowstorm early Saturday morning

Atlantic City, NJ: A tractor-trailer rig rumbles along the Atlantic City Expressway during a fierce snowstorm on Friday night.

New York City, NY. A woman dances and twirls around in Times Square as she celebrates the start of the snowfall very early Saturday morning.

Washington, D.C. U.S. Secret Service Agents stand guard outside the White House during a snowstorm in downtown Washington, D.C. on January 22.

Washington, D.C.: A homeless woman tries to warm herself near a steam grate on Constitution Ave. in Washington, D.C.

Hanover, MD: Grace Sylvester scans the departures and arrivals board near the Southwest ticketing area at the airport in Hanover, MD. Over 6,000 flights have been cancelled nationwide.

West Virginia: Aaron Gordon, third from right, Green Cochran and Derrick Jenkins, help push Stephanie Taylor's vehicle into the KFC parking lot after getting stuck in the snow along Robert C. Byrd Drive on Jan 22, 2016

NOAA Satllite Image: This NOAA satellite image taken on Jan. 22, 2016 at 12:45 p.m. EST, shows a large strengthening winter storm system that is moving across the southeastern United States.

Orange County, NC: Snow plows and traffic make their way south along Interstate 40 in Durham and Orange county in N.C. on Jan. 22, 2016

Alexandria, VA: A customer looks at the heavily depleted meat section of a grocery store, as shoppers prepare for an approaching snowstorm

Alexandria, VA: Only a small selection of bread is left on these shelves as a shopper in Alexandria, Virginia, prepares for the blizzard

Roanoke, VA: A snow plow truck makes its way down Electric Road in southwest Roanoke County past Tanglewood Mall on Friday morning on Jan. 22, 2016, in Roanoke, Virginia.

Anyway, as soon as I finish typing this I'm heading out to do my first dig-out of the day. It's way over a foot already (Philly area) and I own the big dog snow blower on my road. Which should surprise precisely nobody here.

28" & counting where I'm at right now... (But here I am talking on the internet with you fine folks, I've got shelves full of whiskey, ammo stocks are good, the banks are closed, & gold & silver are really cheap)...

I almost have my 3D printer printing out a snow storm. I use water as the substrata but I haven't yet got the refrigeration part down yet so it just comes out like a puddle but that WILL change. Soon. Once I get it figured out.

The news is blowing this out of proportion. I can see down to the patio pavers and the weeds in the back yard and I am 4 miles from midtown. The light snow piling in the front in drifts, I'll be able to sweep it off it's so light.

The only catastrophe is the neighbor's swing blowing over. I like to take naps on that swing.

Back inside now. Getting the snow blower from the shed to the driveway was the hard part. You basically have to snow blow your way across the lawn, uphill.

I found my missing trash can lid along the way. ;)

Definitely not the worst snow I've had to clear (2010 is the all time winner around these parts) but the way the snow drifts when it's accompanied by high winds like today mean there are places it's only 8" deep and other parts are up to my waist.

Roads are plowed decent in my area. Time to hop in the Jeep, head out to do some recon and clear the store shelves of any reamining milk, eggs and bread.

Yep- I live an hour northwest of Baltimore, and we have around 3 feet already, and it's supposed to snow heavily until 11PM tonight. 5 foot drifts on the deck out back, one of my vehicles is completely buried under a drift.

What's really fun is to just make a little hole to see out the windshield and then turn the heater to the windshield setting (the Brits call it a windscreen as if it's semi-permeable) and watch it slowly melt, while listening to a boss CD.

BE SURE, though, to make an air hole all the way down to the tailpipe/s to ensure that you'e still a bioform after this mission is accomplished

You yankees are such wooses. I had to put on my rubber boots, carpenter shorts and a tee shirt and go outside and clean my pool filter. I think it was around 62° but with the wind chill factor it felt like...62°. I had to retreat inside 'cuz I forgot my beer can cozy. Seriously, it almost rained here today. Shit's gettin' real here in SoCal...

I don't understand why the grocery shelves are stripped. Do Americans not store any food in their fridges and cupboards? And why the interest in meat? What are you going to do with that meat if you have a power outage? Wouldn't canned items or a box of crackers make more sense?

Down here in FL there are lines out the door at big box hardware stores during hurricanes for generators, gas cans, flashlights, batteries, etc. And when the storm passes, they are sitting in lines returning these items! Who the fuck returns batteries? Idgits. I've also had friends and neighbors just toss the extra food they bought because they don't have a freezer for the bread, meat, etc. and can't be bothered to donate it to a food pantry. I can sit in place for months and not hardly miss a thing to eat or lack power when needed. And that's possible because I don't have cable(or a TV) and my iTunes library count is 0.

As regards buying meat; if you live in a cold climate to begin with, your freezer is probably already in a cold part of the house(basement or garage) and will last a decently long time frozen. If not, simply put it in coolers and store it outside(did this in PA before) or in the freezing garage. You can also make jerky or pemmican or cube it and cook it to be easily added to a stew up to a couple weeks later at fridge temps.

We had more snow than that just a few weeks back. I can't recall anyone even mentioning it, other than to remark that we're going to have a white Christmas.

There's still more snow on the ground than shown in those pictures. Those pictures show what happens here just about every single day around here (seriously, it snows just about every single day where I live during the winter - not very much, to be sure, but, yes, every single day).

“why the interest in meat? What are you going to do with that meat if you have a power outage? “

Aw c’mon… T H I M K…

The snow keeps the extra meat refrigerated regardless of the power.

Now if the snow starts to melt and the power is not yet back, just lay some out, assume the sniping position and the local varmints or the neighbors will crawl in to take the bait and provide fresh new protein,

If the roads to leuven, Belgium, get hopelessly snowed in, I've got my meat running around in my backyard and my eggs to pick in my two big hen houses. Thinking of acquiring some milk goats right now, but they stink to high heaven, so I still hesitate. Thinking about some pigs also, but I'll admit I'm a bit squeamish about butchering hogs. Bread, I bake myself.

There are professional butchering services which will come around, cap your pigs, take them to their place and make all the cuts and bring them back bagged and beautiful. They may not be available everywhere but they sure are in Canada and I would assume, the States. My neighbour across the street keeps a few pigs and shot and rendered them last year but is leaving it to the pros this year